State Lands Commission

A pact aimed at keeping a handful of recreation programs open at the former El Toro Marine base dissolved Tuesday after Orange County officials failed to reach agreement with those fighting plans for an airport there. The Navy has threatened to padlock the base July 1 if the two sides don't resolve their differences. The county wants airport foes to drop a challenge to the transfer of police authority over the base, now pending before the State Lands Commission in Sacramento.

After receiving letters from the State Lands Commission and the state attorney general's office, the City Council on Thursday modified a proposed land donation agreement with the Southern Pacific Transportation Co. At issue was a proposal to allow Southern Pacific what some critics say was too much freedom to determine the tax writeoff value of the land the company was giving the city for a redevelopment project. Atty. Gen. John K.

A long squabble between Atlantic Richfield Co. and two government entities--the State Lands Commission and Santa Barbara County--ended Friday with Arco formally returning 4,000 acres worth of offshore oil-lease deeds in exchange for the right to drill 300 new wells in Long Beach Harbor. Arco spokesman Al Greenstein said that the settlement ends the company's development plans off the Santa Barbara coast.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy admitted that he has a miserable record of attendance at meetings of the State Lands Commission--though a voting member, he has been present for only about one session in three. But at least, he said, his record was better than that of his predecessor--and present opponent--Mike Curb, who made it to only two meetings during his four years in office. "Abysmal!" McCarthy thundered. Curb campaign manager Fred Karger had a comeback, however.

Huell Howser, the host of KCET's "California's Gold," lost his final bid in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday to prevent the Long Beach Naval Station from being demolished and turned into new cargo terminals. Judge Peter J. Lichtman dismissed Howser's lawsuit against the state Lands Commission, which the TV personality claimed was wasting public assets by allowing Long Beach to destroy historic structures on the naval base.

The Redondo Beach City Council has moved to prevent a state ruling from forcing the eviction of people who live on boats in King Harbor. Reacting to a State Lands Commission statement that too much residential use of the harbor amounts to private use of public land, the council voted unanimously to have the city staff prepare an emergency ordinance to forbid evictions based on the ruling.

Trucks have begun hauling sodium bicarbonate from a San Bernardino neighborhood where 15,000 cubic yards of the sand-like material spilled from a runaway train. Southern Pacific spokesman Jim Loveland said the railroad obtained a permit from the State Lands Commission to dump the sodium bicarbonate in the dry bed of Owens Lake in Inyo County. It will take 20 days and cost $500,000 to relocate the material, which originally was mined from Owens Lake.